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through them a moment, he lifted Vogue and showed it to her. The cover read, "Shannon's Out-of-this-World Marriage to Astronaut's Son." Ellie frowned at the picture of the famous model on the cover.
"Shannon March," Keller said. "Right here it says she married the son of a real-life astronaut. And you told Cassidy her dad was the son of an astronaut. There's not a lot of actual astronauts out there, you know," he added as if he were an authority on the subject. "So, it was pretty much a given this could be her dad."
Mouth falling open, Ellie turned toward Boston. "You married Shannon March?"
"My brother did," he murmured, frowning as he eyed Keller.
"Oh," she said. Wow. Her daughter's biological uncle was married to a world-known model. How amazing was that?
Boston eyed the magazine as he pushed to his feet and strolled toward it. A bug-eyed Keller handed it over as soon he reached for it.
"We read the article about her marrying Montgomery Kincaid," the boy said. "And when it said he went to the same college as you, Mama Ellie, then we knew...we just knew this had to be her dad. Because you said...you said you met her dad in college and he was the son of a—"
"I know what I said," Ellie snapped, irritated her own words had come back to bite her in the butt. But she'd never thought her daughter would turn into a mini Sherlock Holmes and actually get so close to finding the truth. Then again, she 57
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should've known better with a genius savant like Keller as her best friend.
"Keller," she said on an exasperated sigh. "You need to go home now. And don't think I won't tell your mother about borrowing that credit card."
"But..." the boy sputtered as he was nudged toward the exit.
Ellie opened the door and ushered him out. "You can see Cassidy tomorrow."
"But is he Montgomery Kincaid or not?" he asked, peeking around her to get one last look at Boston.
"He's not," Ellie said and shut the door in his face.
She paused to press a hand to her aching temple. She would've liked to follow Keller out the door and escape too, but this had to be dealt with. Regulating her breathing and repeating a soothing monologue in her head as she turned, Ellie caught sight of Boston skimming through the article about his sister-in-law.
He glanced up and arched a non-impressed eyebrow. "I take it you told her about me but never gave her my name."
Ellie sighed. She'd had to give her daughter something.
Cassidy had been asking about her father a lot lately, and she was as stubborn as all get out. Once the girl wanted something, she worked to get it. And lately, she'd wanted to meet her father. Ellie should've known she'd start looking by herself. She'd definitely gained her sense of determination from Boston, that was for sure.
"If I'd known she was going to pull a Nancy Drew on me, I wouldn't have given her anything."
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Boston's gaze iced over. His jaw tightened, but he didn't comment. The boy she'd known ten years ago wouldn't have kept silent. He'd have spat out something sharp and demeaning. But the aged, more polished version of that young man held his tongue.
Instead, he glanced out the window. "Who was that kid?"
Ellie cleared her throat. "Um...that was Keller Young," she answered in a slightly unsteady voice. She noticed a tremor in her hand as she reached for a box of cereal to put away. Not wanting him to see the fear clogging her system, she jerked her fingers behind her back and spun his way as if to check if he noted her anxiety.
She cleared her throat again when she realized his gaze was fixed on her arm tucked behind her back.
"He, ah, he lives next door," she continued, wondering why she was talking about Keller. She needed to get him out of here before Cassie was done with her bath. She needed him gone and as far away from her and her baby as he could possibly get.
But she just kept talking like an idiot. "He and Cass have been best friends since the moment we moved here six years ago."
Boston nodded as if soaking in every detail of his daughter's life he could uncover. "He seems pretty smart for his age."
"Oh, he's a whiz all right," Ellie said. "He could probably pass a high school G.E.D. if he wanted to. All his teachers keep trying to talk him into advancing into special gifted classes. They're always wanting to skip him a grade or two.
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But he refuses. He wants to stay in the same class as Cassidy."
Boston cocked his head curiously at that news. "He's the same age as Cassie? But she's probably a head taller than him."
Ellie couldn't help but smile. "Actually, he's a month older than her. Yet another reason he didn't want to skip any grades. He's already picked on enough for being so small.
Cassidy deflects a lot of teasing for him. I bet he'd come home with a bloody nose every day if it wasn't for her."
"She fights off his bullies, does she?" he asked, looking amused and a little proud.
Something hard and intense thumped into the base of her stomach. But seeing that pleased glint in Boston's eyes made her feel connected to him the way only a pair of proud parents could be. And she couldn't help but remember back to when he'd been her entire world and how much she'd adored him when they'd conceived their daughter together.
Feeling herself soften, she nodded yes. Boston's mouth curved slightly like he was remembering a happier time too.
But a split moment later, he paused as if realizing she was the enemy now. His face stiffened into a cool glare and he glanced away, stuffing his hands moodily into his pockets.
Ellie swallowed and dropped her eyes. "So, ah, anyway.
You probably need to get back to, ah..." Wherever the hell he'd come from.
Boston's gaze zipped accusingly to her face, eyes narrowed. She bit her lip.
"What about Cassie?" he asked.
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"What about her?"
His forehead wrinkled. "She still doesn't know who I am."
Ellie didn't think that was a problem. As if reading her thoughts, his scowl deepened. "I want her to know the truth."
Lifting her eyebrows, Ellie said, "Oh, you want her to know the truth, huh? Sure, I'll tell her exactly why we broke up."
An uneasy look filled his face, and he opened his mouth to comment. But Ellie kept talking. "I'll be happy to tell her exactly where things went wrong. And how you were so ashamed of being with me you would never let me meet your family, or—"
"I never—" he started, but she kept talking over him.
"Or how you thought I was just a gold-digging bitch who purposely trapped you into staying with me by getting knocked up."
"I apologized for that." His face turned gray as if remembering his own words made him physically ill. "As soon as I said it, I told you I was sorry."
Unable to watch the repentant features that looked so truly genuine, Ellie turned and crossed her arms over her chest.
"So you did," she murmured, though she was sure he could hear in her voice that she'd never forgiven or forgotten.
A tense moment of silence followed, and finally he murmured, "Is that why you told me you had a miscarriage?
Because I was such a jerk?" He sucked in a breath. "Jesus, Ellie, I was a stupid, immature kid who was scared out of my mind. How could you—"
"And what do you think I was?" she broke in incredulously, spinning to glare at him. "I was three years younger than you 61
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and a lot less experienced in the ways of the world. What do you think it was like for me?"
"Okay." He lifted a hand to hush her. Glancing toward the hallway, reminding her Cassidy was still just down the hall, he repeated, "Okay," in a calm tone that
made her want to rail at him all that much more. But how could he keep a level head when all she wanted to do was scream, and throw stuff, and cry?
Hissing out a disgusted breath, she spun away and pressed a hand to her thumping heart. Tears threatened, and she gnashed her teeth to keep them away. But damn it. She hadn't let herself cry over Boston Kincaid since—
"So I was a stupid, immature, selfish kid," he revised. "I didn't care about anyone but myself, and I freely admit that. I cannot tell you how sorry I am about how I treated you. I will always regret the things I did and said." He drew out a long, loud sigh. "I mean, God, if I'd known then I'd never feel for a woman the way I felt about—"
Ellie whirled to gape at him at the exact moment he broke off. She gulped when she found an expression of shocked horror on his face as he realized how much he was about to reveal. But that last word of his statement, though never spoken, seemed to hover in the air above them.
Lips parting in stunned disbelief, she could only watch as Boston shook his head like he was trying to deny what he'd just blurted out. His chest expanded as he sucked in a breath.
Then he licked dried lips and sent her a wary glance.
"This isn't why I'm here," he stated, sounding a little desperate, as if he was trying to convince himself of that fact 62
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more than he was trying to convince her. "I'm here because I have a daughter, and you kept her from me. And I want her to know who I am."
But Ellie couldn't process anything past If I'd known then that I'd never feel for a woman what I felt for you, you, you, you, you...
She'd never thought he actually cared for her...at least not after it was all said and done, when her eyes had been opened to his stupid, immature, selfish ways...not after she no longer thought she was crazy in love with him. No. Then she'd been able to see how much she hadn't meant to him, how it'd only been about the sex for him.
Shaking her head in an effort to clear the racing thoughts, she swallowed and hoarsely answered, "I don't know if that's such a good idea." Then she gritted her teeth, mad at herself by being swayed by his sweet words. It was foolish to believe, even for one second, that he'd actually changed, that he wasn't still that self-centered, immature jerk.
He'd used pretty words to get into her pants back then too, just like he was doing now. But this time around, he wanted something more precious than her virginity; he wanted her daughter.
"And why wouldn't it be a good idea?" he asked, jerking her attention back to the present.
Ellie took a deep breath. "I'll tell you why," she murmured evenly. Because I don't want you to take her away from me.
"Because she's gone nine years without a father and has done perfectly fine. Letting you into her world so suddenly will only 63
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confuse and hurt her. She doesn't need you. She has a great life."
His jaw bunched and his eyes flared. She wondered briefly if he might actually attack her. Then he blew out a breath from between clenched teeth and growled, "Is that why she went behind your back to find me? Because she doesn't need me? Is that why she and her little friend scoured magazine after magazine until they found something that fit her daddy's description? Because she doesn't want me?" He shook his head slowly. "Try again, Ellie."
Ellie gave a shaky swallow; air wobbled through her lungs.
She couldn't remember feeling this scared since—God, this was probably the most frightened she'd ever been. She hadn't even been this frightened when she'd been eight and both her parents had died, leaving her with a great aunt she'd never met before, or when she'd been nineteen and the doctor had placed a new baby in her arms for her to raise alone.
"You can't have her," she said softly and bit back the wince. But damn it, why had she just revealed her deepest fear to him?
He didn't answer her immediately. He merely studied her as if trying to find more secrets she hid. Finally, he said,
"Right now, all I want to do is meet her. I want her to know who I am."
"Right now?" she repeated, latching onto that term. "What about later, then?"
His jaw went tight. "You don't want this to get ugly, Ellie. I am a good lawyer."
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She paled. "Don't threaten me, Boston. This is my child you're talking about. I raised her and fed her. I rocked her to sleep every night and worried about her every day. I was the one to bring her up from an infant and care for her. You don't even know her."
"And whose fault is that?" He blinked rapidly as if trying to wipe away an onslaught of tears. "You didn't give me a chance to mess up," he whispered in a hoarse voice.
Ellie shook her head. "You'd already messed up."
He ran a hand through his hair. "I messed up with you," he reminded her. "Not her."
When she didn't answer, he growled out a sound of frustration. He opened his mouth, but something in the doorway caught his attention and he promptly snapped his jaw shut. Knowing it was Cassidy, Ellie cursed her luck and turned slowly to find her daughter once again standing in the entrance of the kitchen, but this time she wore her nicest dress, white tights—which she always refused to wear—and her glossy black dress shoes. She'd brushed her hair, something Cassie usually made Ellie do since she hated doing it herself, and even put barrettes in the dark locks.
Seeing the girl primp to meet her father made Ellie want to cry. Without wanting to, she gave in.
Every night for the past year, she'd been forced to tell the girl something about her daddy. Not wanting the usual bedtime story from one of her books, Cassie had opted for information about Boston. That was why she'd learned so much about him and been able to find him...because she'd bugged Ellie constantly for facts.
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Seeing that hopeful gleam in Cassie's eyes was Ellie's downfall. Her daughter had been dreaming of this for months...years.
"Cass," she said quietly. But the girl paid her no attention.
She strode to Boston. He met her gaze, and Ellie could tell he was holding his breath.
"Are you going to take me to my dad now?" Cassidy asked.
"That's why you're here, isn't it? Because he couldn't come himself?" Grinning broadly, she looked down at her dress.
"Well, I'm ready to meet him."
Boston sent her a wobbly smile. "You look very nice too."
Ellie wanted to hug him. That was the best thing he could've told the girl.
Cassie beamed. "Is he waiting very far away?"
"Cassidy," Ellie interrupted then. Her daughter ignored her until she said, "Montgomery Kincaid isn't your father."
Cassie whirled around, her eyes wide with denial. "He's not?" Her bottom lip quivered, and Ellie sent her a sympathetic look as she shook her head no. "But...but...why is he here then?" Cassie motioned blindly toward Boston. "He wouldn't come if his brother wasn't—"
"Cassie, come sit down," Ellie interrupted, moving toward the kitchen table.
Her daughter didn't budge. "No. I want—"
"I'll tell you the truth about your father," she added evenly, though she had to pitch her voice up an octave to catch Cassie's attention. "Now, sit down."
For a moment, it looked like Cassidy was going to rebel.
Then she glanced up at Boston. He hitched his chin 66
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encouragingly toward a chair. Finally, the girl slumped into action, but she didn't look happy about it. She probably thought Ellie was going to evade the subject like she usually did.
Easing down into a seat next to her daughter, Ellie reached out and took both of Cassie's hands. From the corner of her eye, she saw Boston edge closer, though he still kept a good distance away.
"Cassie, honey," she started, sounding surprisingly calm considering the way her
heart threatened to thump its way out of her chest.
"Listen to me, sweetheart." Her fingers tightened around Cassie's. "Boston is here because he read the letter you sent his brother. You see, he also went to the University of Kansas at the same time as I did. And he's also the son of an astronaut. He...he..."
She paused to glance his way. She hadn't realized saying it aloud would be so hard.
Oh, boy. What if she couldn't do it?
But as soon as she caught Boston's anxious gaze, she felt encouraged. Turning back to Cassie, she said, "Montgomery Kincaid is only your uncle. Boston..." she added, glancing at him again, "is your father."
Cassie's mouth fell open in awe, and she lifted her head to look up at Boston. " You're my dad?"
His face had drained of color, and it didn't look like he'd remembered to breathe in the last thirty seconds. But he held Cassie's gaze steady as he nodded.
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Cassie slowly slipped to her feet, and Ellie let go of her hand as she watched her little girl cautiously approach the grown man who looked like he was going to hyperventilate any moment. Ellie could honestly say she'd never seen him look so scared.
"Really?" Cassie asked, looking him up and down as if she couldn't believe it.
For a split second, Ellie thought he was going to pass out.
But he seemed to collect himself enough to give another mute nod.
Cassie gasped in pleasure. "Can...can I hug you?"
Boston's jaw dropped. He glanced quickly at Ellie as if seeking permission. But before she could give any kind of response, he turned back to their daughter.
Eyes watering, he choked out, "I think I would like that."
He made a small sobbing sound as he fell on both knees, and Cassie leapt into his open arms.
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Chapter Five
She felt so small in his embrace. Her limbs were toothpick thin, but the girl had muscle, and she put her whole body into hugging him as tightly as she could. He closed his eyes and inhaled her sweet child scent. Her hair was still damp from the bath Ellie had told her to take. The wet locks soaked his collar and cheek. But he didn't care. He was hugging his daughter.